Scuff pad for piano pedals



Aug. 16, 1955 F. KULT 2,

SCUFF PAD FOR PIANO PEDALS Filed D60. 11, 1952 INVENTOR. /fiv/NG f. Kau- I ArraE 4 United States Patent SCUFF PAD FOR PIANO PEDALS Irving F. Kult, Cleveland, Ohio Application December 11, 1952, Serial No. 325,249

3 Claims. (Cl. 84-183) This invention relates to improvements in scuff pads for piano pedals, that is to say pads for protecting the kick board of the piano and the floor or floor covering in front of the pedals.

It is important that such a scuff pad be held securely against unintentional movement while the piano is in use, but it is also important that the mat which lies upon and protects the floor, rug or carpet in front of the pedals be readily removable when it becomes necessary to clean the floor or floor covering.

It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide a two part scuff pad comprising a mat for the floor and a guard frame for attachment to the piano, together with means for releasably holding the mat against relative movement with respect to the frame, whereby the mat is normally held in operative position and may be readily removed when necessary.

Other objects and features of novelty will appear as I proceed with the description of that embodiment of the invention which, for the purposes of the present application, I have illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. l is a perspective view of my improved scuff pad in operative relation with the pedals of a piano;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the two pad memers in separated relation;

Fig. 3 is a rear elevational view showing the two members assembled, but with one fastening in operative position and the other in inoperative position;

Fig. 4 is a fragmental plan view, a portion of the guard frame being shown in horizontal section;

Fig. 5 is a fragmental rear elevational view showing a modified form of releasable fastening; and

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially on the line 66 of Fig. 5, but turned through an angle of 180.

In carrying out the invention a guard frame is permanently mounted on the piano, which frame has an opening that encloses the piano pedals. In the illustrated embodiment this frame comprises a horizontal bridging element 10, which may be convexly curved as shown, and two integral side posts 11 which straddle the pedals that are indicated in broken lines at 12, Fig. 1. This guard frame may be made of any suitable material that is adapted to hold its shape permanently. The material which I prefer for the purpose at the present time is molded plastic. The two side posts 11 are formed with flanges or lips 13 which have openings 14 therethrough, preferably vertical slots, for the reception of screws 15. The kick board of the piano must of course be drilled to receive these screws rather tightly so that when they are once inserted and driven home the frame will remain in fixed position on the piano.

The mat part 16 of the scuff pad is adapted to lie on the floor in front of the piano or on the rug or other floor covering. It may be constructed of rubber or composition of a suitable character but preferably is of molded plastic. It may or may not have a decorative configuration as shown in the drawing.

At is forward end its thickness may be increased somewhat so as to better receive and anchor threaded pivot portions 17 of two fastenings, each of which includes a curved latch portion 18 having a small hook 19 at its free extremity, the latch portion being disposed in a plane at right angles to the pivot portion 17.

The holes for the pivot portions 17 of these fastenings may be of somewhat less diameter than the outer diameter of the threads, so that when the fastenings are in serted they form their own threads in the mat. They are free to turn however through a portion of a revolution.

The side posts 11 of the guard frame have apertures or pockets 20 opening toward the sides which face each other, and these pockets are proportioned to receive the latch portions of the fastenings when the mat is centrally disposed in engagement with the side posts 11 and when the fastenings are swung on their pivots from the inoperative position illustrated at the right hand side of Fig. 3 to the operative position illustrated at the left hand side of that figure. The width of each pocket 20 is such as to rather snugly receive the curved wire fastening 18, but it will be noted that the height of the pocket 20 is somewhat greater than the height of the curved fastening, which compensates for differences in thickness of floor covering in front of the piano and beneath the mat 16.

The pivot portions 17 of the fastenings are spaced apart a distance slightly less than the spacing of the side posts 11 of the frame, and when the mat is in operative position the common plane of the curved portions 18 of the fastenings bisects the said posts. Accordingly when the fastenings are swung over to operative position they not only hold the mat against movement toward or away from the piano, but by engaging the outer walls of the pockets 20 they effectively prevent accidental movement of the mat in a sidewise direction.

When it becomes desirable to temporarily remove the mat 16, as for cleaning purposes, the operator merely inserts a finger under the hook 19 of each fastening and swings them out of the pockets 20 into the position shown in full lines at the right of Fig. 3, whereupon the mat may be pulled back and lifted. Returning the mat to operative position is accomplished in the reverse manner.

In the modification of Figs. 5 and 6 each of the releasable fastenings has a threaded shank 27 which is threadably mounted in the mat 16 in a manner similar to that of the shank 17 of the first described form, and which is rotatable therein through a limited angle. Its opposite end is formed with a straight arm 28 disposed at right angles to the shank. When the shank is turned to dispose this arm 28 vertically upward the arm may be projected through a slot 29 extending through the post 11 from front to rear and then turned over to a horizontal position as shown in the drawing. With both of the releasable fastenings in the latter position the mat is firmly held against the frame posts 11 and also held against any accidental movement laterally.

The guard frame 10, 11 remains fixed to the piano at all times. In addition to its function of holding the mat against accidental displacement it serves also as a protection to the piano in the area directly surrounding the pedals.

While in the drawing and in the foregoing description the adjustable fastenings are mounted in the mat and take into pockets or slots in the guard frame, the reverse arrangement could be employed.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a scuff pad for use with piano pedals, two separable members one of which comprises a vertical guard frame adapted to be attached to the kick board of a piano, said frame having side posts adapted to straddle the piano pedals, and the other member of which comprises a mat adapted to lie on the floor in front of the pedals, and fastenings carried by one of said members adapted to be swung transversely into interengaging relation with the other member for releasably attaching the mat to the frame, each of said fastenings comprising an oscillat-able pivot portion disposed at right angles to said kick board and a latch portion disposed in a plane at right angles to said pivot portion, said other member having a slot to receive said latch portion and said slot being of greater height than said latch portion.

2. A scuff pad for use with piano pedals as defined in claim 1, characterized in that said fastenings are mounted in said mat and said slots are formed in said side posts and when in operative position said fastenings engage the slots in said side posts in a manner to hold the mat against movement away from said frame and against movement laterally with respect to said frame.

3. A scuff pad for use with piano pedals as defined in claim 1, characterized in that each of said fastenings comprises a pivot portion mounted in said mat extending forwardly therefrom and a latching portion disposed in a plane at right angles to said pivot portion, said latching portions in one angular position being adapted to be received by the guard frame when the said separable members are assembled, and said latching portions being adapted to be turned thereafter through an angle of 90 approximately for releasably attaching the mat to the frame.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

